Have you ever had the experience of getting to know someone better after they had died? That’s happened to me a couple of times.

The first time was when someone I hardly knew suddenly passed away. He was a friend of a friend and I had only met him one time, but we seemed to have an immediate connection. The day after he died, I was daydreaming… doing some kind of chore in the kitchen when I sensed the presence of this new acquaintance. He was like hanging out with me, cross-legged on my kitchen counter, He had a warm and gentle presence, but powerful. He wanted me to tell our mutual friend that it wasn’t our friend’s fault. I asked him, “Why me? Why don’t you tell him yourself?” and he answered that our friend would not believe it was really him. He wanted me to tell our friend that it was okay… it wasn’t his fault. Of course I did the best I could to communicate that to my living friend.

My new deceased friend stayed connected to me for a while. He taught me a lot about continuing a connection and a friendship from the “other” side… and to even grow in love and understanding. He faded away from my conscious awareness after our mutual friend finally got his message about forgiving himself (or was it me?).

Losing a loved one… whether through death, divorce, estrangement…. is inevitable. We are going to be physically separated sooner or later. We are going to endure heartbreaking disconnects and estrangements. But we never lose our heart connections. And reconciliation and reunion are inevitable in the long run.

The best song I’ve ever heard about cherishing the love connection even beyond death is the theme from the movie “My Heart Will Go On” by James Horner. I had to rehearse that song about 50 times before I could sing it in public without crying… that’s how it touches my heart because it recognizes the truth – “My heart will go on and on…”

Yes, we can stay connected to loved ones by keeping our hearts open in expectation of the miracle. We can open our hearts wherever we are….

I had a mama… and when we laid her down to rest,
I went wandering around, looking for her, I guess.
Then I heard a whisper. She said, “Honey, whatcha looking for?
I’ve been here all along… knocking at your door. You can…

Open Your Heart… wherever you are.
Love’s the same though we have changed,
And we’re together though apart.
Open Your Heart.

I had a vision… where all my dreams had come true.
We were all for One and One for All with You.
Keep on believing… that the best is yet to come.
And walk hand in hand with a Heart that carries on.
You can…

Open Your Heart… wherever you are.
Love’s the same though we have changed,
And we’re together though apart.
Open Your Heart.

Now I’ll be leaving… I’m leaving friends and family,
The home I love, my whole life history.
But I’m not grieving… ‘cause I’ll never be far away
I’m connected to the hearts of the ones who’ve heard me say…
You can…

Open Your Heart… wherever you are.
Love’s the same though we have changed,
And we’re together though apart.
Open Your Heart… wherever you are.
Love’s the same though we have changed,
And we’re together though apart.
Open Your Heart!